MAKING OF A NEW NATION 1776 1800
PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS FROM ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS TO XYZ AFFAIR
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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People in France really hated John Jay
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Jay’s Treaty made France pay more money to the United States
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They believed that England would start stealing their ships
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It seemed like the United States was favoring England
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Detailed explanation-1: -When Britain and the United States signed the Jay Treaty (1794) to maintain the peace between the two nations, France saw that treaty as deeply unfair. (For example, Britain could seize goods from U.S. ships sailing to France if it paid compensation.)
Detailed explanation-2: -Jefferson, Madison and other opponents feared the treaty gave too many concessions to the British. They argued that Jay’s negotiations actually weakened American trade rights and complained that it committed the U.S. to paying pre-revolutionary debts to English merchants.
Detailed explanation-3: -France, then at war with England, interpreted the treaty as a violation of its own commercial treaty of 1778 with the U.S. This resentment led to French maritime attacks on the U.S. and between 1798 and 1800 to an undeclared naval war.
Detailed explanation-4: -Many leaders were also angry that the United States had concluded the Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1794. Consequently, in 1796 French leaders decided to issue an order allowing for the seizure of American merchant ships, carefully timed to catch as many as possible by surprise.